Immunobiological aspects of Clq in sera of patients with cutaneous vasculitis and collagen diseases.

Clq was comparatively quantified with CH50 or C3 in sera of patients with various types of cutaneous vasculitis and collagen diseases. The following results were found: 1) Elevated levels of Clq were seen much more frequently in cutaneous vasculitis and PSS. 2) No significant correlations were found between Clq and CH50 or C3, except for a moderate rank correlation between Clq and C3 in SLE.

Acidic glycosaminoglycans in skin and urine of a patient with wide-spreaded lichen sclerosus et atrophicus.

Changes of dermal and urinary acidic glycosaminoglycans in Lichen Sclerosus et Atrophicus (LSA) were investigated with the following results: 1. Hyaluronic acid (HA) was excreted in urine of a patient with LSA. 2.

Effect of age on C1q and C3 levels in human serum and their presence in colostrum.

The initiating complement component (C1q) in the classical pathway of 730 subjects and the first essential component (C3) in the alternative pathway of 461 subjects in Japan were examined. The study population consisted of normal healthy newborns, infants, children, adults and the old (from birth up to 75 years of age). In cord sera, both C1q and C3 were about 60% to the total mean level.

Acidic glycosaminoglycans in skin and urine of a patient with wide-spreaded lichen sclerosus et atrophicus.

Changes of dermal and urinary acidic glycosaminoglycans in Lichen Sclerosus et Atrophicus (LSA) were investigated with the following results: 1. Hyaluronic acid (HA) was excreted in urine of a patient with LSA. 2.

Smooth muscle cells in the development of plasmatic arterionecrosis, arteriosclerosis, and arterial contraction.

Plasmatic arterionecrosis, the causative lesion of hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage, follows upon medial muscle cell necrosis. The development of medial muscle cell necrosis, the earliest cerebral arterial change seen in hypertensive rats, was inhibited when these animals were fed a cholesterol and lard-supplemented diet. Insudation of fibrin was noted in the arterial intima of hypertensive rats with bilaterally constricted renal arteries.

Biochemical characterization of connective tissue macromolecules derived from cutaneous fibrosarcoma.

Tumor tissue of cutaneous fibrosarcoma was solubilized with salt, acetic acid and salt-extracted after pepsin treatment. Type III collagen was observed in neutral soluble collagen, 1.5 M and 2.

Characterization of the synthesized collagen by mouse L-929 (L-5) cells.

In 48 h incubation L-929 (L-5) cells secreted collagenous protein accounting for 16% of the total protein. CM-chromatography, SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and DEAE-cellulose chromatography revealed that the collagenous protein was mainly composed of type I collagen, having no collagen of type III. In addition, precursor-form collagen and tropocollagen molecules were found to be present in the incubate.

A latent collagenase from embryonic human skin explants.

Collagenase released from embryonic and adult human skin explants has been studied with special reference to the latency of the enzyme. 1) Embryonic human skin explants showed a much higher capacity for collagenase production than did adult skin, on the basis of unit weight of tissue. 2) Culture medium from embryonic skin explants contained latent collagenase at almost twice the concentration of the active form.

A complex of collagenase with low molecular weight inhibitors in the culture medium of embryonic chick skin explants.

Collagenase inhibitors with molecular weights of about 6,000 and 12,000 were isolated from latent chick skin collagenase treated with 3 M NaI and from the culture medium of embryonic skin explants. It is suggested that these inhibitors, which are possibly derived from connective tissue macromolecule metabolites, are candidates for regulating factors of collagenase activity in vivo.

Connective tissue metabolism in culture fibroblasts of a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type I.

Study on connective tissue metabolism was conducted with a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (E-D) of Type I who visited our institute. The conversion of procollagen into tropocollagen in the medium of cultured fibroblasts was assayed by the chase technique using 3H-proline. The conversion was inhibited in the cultured fibroblasts of the patient.

An electron microscopic study of plasmatic arterionecrosis in the human cerebral arteries.

An electron microscopic study of the intracerebral arteries from 9 hypertensive cases was performed in order to elucidate the morphogenesis of the plasmatic arterionecrosis which was considered to be the direct cause of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. In the preceding stage of the arterial lesions, marked necrosis of medial smooth muscle cells and increase of basement membrane-like substance in the intima and media were observed. The lumina of these arteries were slightly dilated.